House votes to reprimand Laura Richardson

The House officially reprimanded Rep. Laura Richardson on Thursday for improperly using her official staff to conduct campaign work and personal errands, the latest blow to the California Democrat’s bid for a fourth term in Congress.

The House approved on voice vote a resolution from the Ethics Committee reprimanding Richardson on seven ethics violations, including obstructing the probe into the allegations against her.

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Richardson, whose financial disclosure report shows she owes at least $150,000 to her legal defense team, was also personally fined $10,000. Richardson must pay the fine by Dec. 1.

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), chairman of the Ethics Committee, said the Richardson probe began in October 2010, when several of her aides privately approached the panel to say they were being pressured to do election work on official time, which is prohibited.

According to these staffers, Richardson’s chief of staff, Shirley Cooks, said in an early 2010 meeting that aides “probably would not have a job” if they don’t work on the California Democrat’s reelection campaign. Cooks and Daysha Austin, Richardson’s deputy district director, were issued letters of reproval by the Ethics Committee.

A special investigative subcommittee led by Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) found that Richardson “acted to consume the resources endowed to her as a member for whatever purpose suited her whims at the moment, be they official acts, her re-election, or personal needs,” Dent said in a floor speech.

Dent added that there was “significant evidence suggesting that her wrongdoing continued even after learning the committee was investigating her.”

In a harshly worded report released on Wednesday, the Ethics Committee said Richardson went so far as to try to cut short her interview by investigators so she could attend the congressional softball game.

The Ethics Committee also was forced to subpoena Richardson to get her to turn over documents it was seeking, although even then she did not fully do so, the report said.

In her floor speech before the reprimand vote, Richardson said she would abide by the Ethics Committee’s findings but slammed the secretive panel for — in her view — prejudging the case against her.

Richardson said Ethics Committee lawyers “improperly influenced witnesses” by telling them that a full-scale investigation was going to be launched against her, long before the panel formally decided to do so.

According to Richardson, these comments were “clearly signaling that the Ethics Committee staff, at least, already believed that I, Representative Richardson, was guilty of misconduct, and influenced subsequent staff testimony.”

Richardson said she personally had not taken any retaliatory action against any aide who refused to work on her campaign, and had never threatened to do so.

“But what I want to make emphatically clear and what I want to emphasize [is] that I have never taken or threatened any action against any staffer who did not volunteer to work on my campaign,” Richardson said. “There is no doubt that a number of staff felt compelled or coerced to do so. That was not my intent and I deeply regret that this occurred.”

more democrate trash,along with rangel, little timmy greiter,warren buffit,dasle,cold cash jefferson,weiner,and the list goes on forever.these people are tax cheats.btw,the word on the street,I don't know if true,harry reid likes little boys. some one in vagas says it is true. harry should show prove it isn't true.

Only in the Congress of the United States can you make the laws, break the laws you make and suffer no consequences. This woman should be expelled from Congress. How can any of her constituents vote her back into office? She is just another Morally and Ethically bankrupt member of Congress and part of the Swamp that the Witch Pelosi once promised to drain. Let's all pull together guys and gals and protect our own from the awful voters. Congress is nothing more than a Cesspool for filth and garbage to congregate in.

And will this affect her health care, pension, car allowance, kickbacks or keys to the golden bathrooms? She will probably be in demand at Democrat Conferences to give Seminars on how to cheat effectively and get away with a pinkie slap. Government Gone Bad should be a film shown at the DNC Convention in North Carolina - Maybe it would encourage Democrats to show up even though Obama will be there

“But what I want to make emphatically clear and what I want to empha [is] that I have never taken or threatened any action against any staffer who did not volunteer to work on my campaign,” Richardson said. “There is no doubt that a number of staff felt compelled or coerced to do so. That was not my intent and I deeply regret that this occurred.” She is as believable as Obama and his stories on Solyndra, Fast and Furious along with the myriad of other lies, falsifications and fabrications

Why is anyone surprised at the action they are taking? Just look at all of the passed actions that have been taken against dems Rangel screamed like he had been raped, but really got away clean. The feds did nothing for his income tax evasion. Maxine Waters will walk as well. Where is the handle? We need to flush this garbage to the sewer.

The corrupt republicans aren't going to get in trouble when the republicans are in power. The evil and hate the GOP has for the President and for the Affordable Care Act is what I hate about their hateful and evil behavior. The republicans are sorry and evil. They are the problem in America and in Congress. Republicans and the tea party republicans are not concerned about this country. They are working for the corrupt and the wicked to do their bidding that will not create jobs, won't help solve our deficit and won't do one darn thing to make America a better place for anyone in the middle class.

Republicans are the problem in our government. They have done nothing for the good of our country. Nothing but stand against solutions, stand against legislation and stand always against the Affordable Care Act. What sorry people who are not worthy of being in our government. When they won't compromise, won't be reasonable, won't do the will of the people who are not Fox watchers but are people who want the government to work so that people have jobs, have benefits, and have homes. Nothing the GOP has done was for jobs. It was against regulations and against the environment. Of couse we don't want the people cheated and of course our environment must be protected. The worst tea party types hang around on Politico to spread hate when they are the people we really have no respect for and we know how pathetic you are.

FAILURES = Boehner, McConnell, Bachmann, Cantor and all the sorriest wealty republican politicians who have caused so much damage to the lives of average Americans are the problem. They are not cooperating, no compromising, not working for the good of the nation. They are treasonous and rabid and that is what is wrong with republicans who are so extreme they want lies, they want hate, they really want to be the dumbest people in America.

Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the other liberal democrats, along with the biased media, unions, Acorn, Soros and the liberal democrats based the entire 2008 campaign on lies. They have no problem working against the will of the American people.

Romney should make a deal.

Release 2009 records when Obama releases his transcripts and thesis from Harvard.

Release 2008 when Obama releases his transcripts from Occidental.

Release 2007 when Obama explains his Massachusetts Social Security number.

I support Ms. Hahn as long as she rids herself of the assymetrical hair cut. (and yes, I am just as bad or even worse on the men)... As she heads into the final stretch, I look forward to Jessica completing a full second term after her partial time to fill in House Member Jane Harman's seat. While true, they have the same initials, it will clearly be a decade before Mrs. Hahn reaches Mrs. Harman's level. May Jesica have the opportunity, and the good fortune to meet that goal.

While campaigning is Job 1, I hope that Mrs. Hahn will work in a bipartisan manner with Mr. Ted Poe, who has introduced a privacy bill for the surveillance drone program... Our constitution and our civil liberties are important. In this post 9/11 world, we have to balance some of our freedom and conveniences for security. Let's not completely abandon our principles and our constitution as amended. Those who look to the founders are clearly foundlings.. I don't look to a document that made a black person a slave, silence a woman of her vote, and took away a poor man's voice because he did not own property. It was a good start. For those of the Newt Gingrich school of thought, look at a picture of the founding founders. While I realize if Newt puts on a wig, he looks like them. The 52% of Americans who are female, the 11% that are African American and the more than 60% that own no land, do not.... Ignorance repeated over and over does not become fact, it becomes a second Obama Presidency.